MRI

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Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects approximately 2.9 million people in Europe, can be difficult to differentiate from other forms of arthritis. Without an early diagnosis, however, it is impossible to assess the true effect of promising early intervention strategies. Could an alternative diagnostic imaging strategy be the answer?

If radiologists could design the perfect modality for guiding interventional procedures, the resulting technology would undoubtedly produce high-quality images without exposing patients to any ionizing radiation. So given the widespread availability of MRI, why are so many interventions still performed in the angiography suite?

CT and MRI have a vital part to play in cases of head and neck trauma, but it is important to know which modality to use under the clinical circumstances, according to speakers at Friday’s opening session of the minicourse on major trauma.

MR systems used in cardiovascular imaging will inevitably have higher field strengths, including 7T, according to a leading cardiac radiologist.

CT and MRI have a vital part to play in cases of head and neck trauma, but it is important to know which modality to use under the clinical circumstances, according to speakers at Friday’s opening session of the minicourse on major trauma.

New developments in ultrasound and MRI mean that peripheral nerve imaging is easier than ever to perform and may bring higher sensitivity to lesion detection.

In the gleaming technical exhibition at ECR 2009, vendors of MRI systems are showing just how their latest innovations will help turn the imaging examination into a faster, less claustrophobic, and altogether more pleasant experience for the patient.

Yes, size does matter, but it is certainly not the only way to monitor the efficacy of cancer treatment. The way in which lesions are measured is extremely important as well, ECR delegates were told at a special focus session on the assessment of tumor response.

Image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound, and cryotherapy are increasing the curative treatment options for men with prostate cancer. The problem is how to determine which patients are most suitable for these therapies.

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Low back pain is so common a complaint that physicians increasingly are recommending against invasive therapy for any but the most serious cases. This approach has led researchers to back up a step in patient management and crunch the numbers behind the imaging procedures that are done to assess and monitor this condition. It’s not good news for radiology.

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Cardiac MR can demonstrate the effects of airway pressure therapy in the hearts of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. In the first study of its kind, researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center found that it could document therapeutic benefits on structure and function to the heart’s right side.

Diffusion-weighted MRI added to standard T2-weighted scans can help spot cervical cancer in its early stages. A preliminary study from the Institute of Cancer Research in London determined that DWI can spot tumors missed by T2 imaging and bolster management options for women who wish to preserve reproductive organs.

A pessary is a small medical device or form of pharmaceutical preparation that is inserted into the vagina or rectum and held in place by the pelvic floor musculature.

Vaccines, antibiotics, and other therapeuticagents have kept most infectious diseasesunder control in industrialized nations. Indeveloping countries, however, infectious diseaseshave been harder to contain.

Studies examining the clinical historiesof patients who developednephrogenic systemic fibrosis aftertreatment at distinguished teachinghospitals in New York City andVienna suggest that gadoliniumbasedcontrast dose and post-MRIhemodialysis are keys to controllingthe rare but deadly skin disorder

Researchers at a private diagnostic imaging center in central Florida have shown 3T MRI of the wrist is nearly as sensitive and specific as arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears. MR could spot abnormalities missed by standard imaging tests and avoid needless surgeries, according to the investigators.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has reached a $1.2 million settlement with a group of 14 Illinois radiology centers that allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals.

After prolonged deliberation and repeated demands for more research, the FDA has approved Vasovist (gadofosveset trisodium), the first contrast imaging agent to gain regulatory clearance specifically for MR angiography.

Preliminary results from a Mayo Clinic study suggest that patients who undergo vertebroplasty may die sooner than patients with vertebral fractures who do not undergo the procedure.

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Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death inU.S. men, second only to lung cancer. During2008, an estimated 186,320 new cases of prostatecancer will be diagnosed in the U.S.

Ultrasound has long been an efficient and usefuladjunct technique for breast imaging. It is thefirst modality to be proposed in some situations:if a young or pregnant woman has a palpablemass, for example, or immediately after surgery.

Adolescent gymnasts are developing a wider variety of arm, wrist, and hand injuries than previously described in gymnast-related medical literature.

Medicare’s outpatient imaging program has issued a New Year’s greeting in the form of rules in the 2009 Physician Fee Schedule that raise professional reimbursement rates, expand the discount for contiguous body part imaging to more applications, and introduce anti-markup rules that are far less harsh than those originally proposed.

Efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.

Alternating MRI with mammography every six months picks up breast cancers not identified by mammography alone for women at high risk, according to research out of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.